Image Credit: Paradox Interactive
Hearts of Iron 4 (Hoi4) is a Grand Strategy video game that is available on PC, Mac, and Xbox. It was released on 6th July 2016, which, by coincidence, is the same date as the D-day landings. Which brings us to the goal and theme of the game. The game is set in WW2, where you can manage and lead your country through the war. Being from 2016, it is an 8-year-old game! However, the question is, is it still worth it?! I think yes! (nothing like 3 free dlcs)
The recent event of 3 free DLCs
Recently, Paradox interactive announced that the first three dlcs of HOI4 (Together for victory, Death or dishonor, Waking the tiger) would be released for free and then integrated into the base game, with the mechanics of these DLCs, including the autonomy system, the new base game and rebranding essentially make Hoi4 a new game. I have seen in my personal experience, as right when I was getting bored of the old game, I saw the surprise announcement while scrolling through instagram, and I couldn’t believe it. Now I feel as if I can get gameplay out of HOI4 for another 2 years at least.
Options, perhaps way too many…
Being a grand strategy game, there are constantly new, stronger strategies and many different ways to play the game, and that’s what makes every player different. For example (sorry that you won’t understand a single word I am about to say) my preferred attack infantry division is 7-2 with support artillery and engineers. I remember a review saying one time - “The game is so complex, if you want to play as a country led by a Venezuelan dictator, you can.” One of my funnest games (that I lost lol) was playing as El Salvador and conquering all of Central America.
Mods - changing the game
Mods, may be less common in other games, and even may be consindered illegal by some companies, however, Paradox Interactive is so mod-friendly, that you can consinder mods to be a feature within the game. The great thing about mods in this game is that the game is extremely mod-friendly, seriously, it is literally an on-off button for specific mods. The great thing about mods, is that they add a lot of unique mechanics, changes, UI differences, and overclocking. Oh yeah, or mods can change everything to even make it a completely different game or different theme. In HOI4, mods are so common and popular that they can extend gameplay by many months, if not years. Mods are one of the reasons why Hearts of Iron 4 is still worth it.
Not only a WW2 simulator, but a sandbox. (Yes, kind of like Minecraft)
Mods bring us to the topic of the sandbox, if you have a sandbox game, mods can change everything. But if we focus on how Hearts of Iron 4 is a sandbox (which means there is no specific goal; the player is given a virtual "sandbox" to do whatever they want within its limits), Sandboxes are great because they pursue longer gameplay for more time, exactly the point of this article.
You also need friends and help to learn a game... right?
The final reason why Hearts of Iron 4 is still worth in 2024 is because of the extremely active community, with the discord community nearly having 100,000 members (ask your parents before joining discord though).
Conclusion
For an overwhelming amount of reasons, I believe that Hoi4 is definitely worth it, and it is clear that Paradox is trying the get the player base as high as possible, before the possible release of Hearts of Iron V.
Bonus: Age rating
According to Common Sense Media, a highly trusted source, this game is 12+, as they put it - "Although the game doesn't feature any graphic portrayals of violence, it does recreate one of the most violent events in human history."
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